Rituraj was never ‘worried’ about the season’s poor start

Rituraj was never ‘worried’ about the season’s poor start when he was back among the runs

Has captaincy burdened Rituraj Gaikwad? The answer was a resounding no after the Chennai Super Kings captain guided his team home on Monday, April 8, at Chepauk with an unbeaten 67 and his first half-century of the year.

This season has started differently from the last, with his first three scores being 92, 57, and 40*. Rituraj, however, believed that the discussion around his lack of runs this year is far more complex and that it did not worry him about his form.

“There are some things that the outside world doesn’t get to see,” Gaikwad remarked. “Last year, the three or four games we started were in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, and again Chennai. Those were all flat-wicket games.

Thus the pitch is really important.” “I thought I got off to a terrific start and got a good ball in the opening IPL 2024 match. In the second game, same, I think I got a good start, but had to accelerate a little you tend to make a mistake there. And in the third game again, I felt like I was in great shape, the second ball did not do anything…”There are periods when you get good balls. There are moments when you are extremely unlucky. There are moments when nothing seems to be falling into place. A fantastic shot that ends up in the hands of the fielder. So, you don’t have to think about that. I never gave it much attention since I always felt like I was in great shape, off to a great start, and in a great frame of mind.”

 

Additionally, Ruturaj stated that he has experience batting as the captain. Whether he is captain or not, “nothing changes” in his attitude; he has been in such situations before.

“And batting while captaining is an entirely another strategy. We were chasing 140 when I played my first game for CSK, or the first fifty runs I scored there. I always wanted to stay to the very end to make sure I finished the innings. It was pretty much the same situation. Whether I am captain or not, nothing much actually changes.”

Rituraj spoke candidly about captaincy following a string of losses away from home. He stated that he wouldn’t “change a single bit” of the team’s management style since it was first established.

He said, “I don’t want to be a specific kind of character.” I simply like to keep the CSK culture intact by going with the flow. I feel that way. What I want is to keep what we have been doing and the success we have had just as it is. That’s what has been happening since I joined CSK. So I just want to go there, make my own decisions, and give as much freedom as I can. Nothing much is changing, and I’m having fun.”

Analysts said much about how Rituraj found out he would be captaining CSK. But he went into further detail, sharing, among other things, a chat he had with Dhoni during a practice session.

“To be honest, I don’t feel like we had very in-depth talks [about Dhoni’s captaincy].” It was quite chillyOne conversation, I would say. While we were training, he came up to me and told me everything. Naturally, everyone else would consider them to be large shoes to fill. But I feel like I would always be true to myself. I would like to carry on the long-standing custom.

“I recall him telling me in 2022 that, while it’s unlikely that you’ll lead after that year. You should be prepared for it. I was always prepared for it after that. It did not surprise me. I wasn’t in the dark about it. I understand how to play the game and bowl on the state team. So I am familiar with the rules, how things work, and when to apply them. Even after every game last year, Fleming and I would talk about captaincy, how I was feeling, what had changed, how the bowling had changed, what I thought we should have done, and other things. Every game we had one-on-one conversations, which was quite helpful.